Chapter 1

Roy regarded himself to be a reasonable person who surrounded himself by equally well-minded people. He certainly wouldn't consider any of his acquaintances to be conspiracy theorists, but that was exactly the type of impression Hughes made when Roy walked into the record room the night after his abrupt transfer to Central.

The colonel had spent the majority of the day overseeing the details of his transfer from East City, ensuring that each and every one of his office's belongings properly made their way to his new workstation within the nation's capital. His promotion was unexpected and surely would have been chaotic and disorganized had he not personally gotten so involved. The trials of the day had him exasperated, but not enough so to ignore the puzzling lack of his best friend.

When he finally managed to track Maes down after the sun had set and the majority of the building's occupants had returned home, he was expecting three bear hugs and a twenty minute rant about how he would have to come over for dinner every Saturday night for the rest of his life now that they lived in the same city, and was concerned when that wasn't what he got. The shock of what he did get at least rattled him out of his mild annoyance at having to stay late, but only for a moment.

Maes was distracted. He abandoned the vast collection of documents and files he had spread out over a map of the city to greet him, but there was no mistaking the tense nervousness that undulated from him. He tried to avoid discussing whatever was on his mind in favor of celebrating Roy's promotion, but his efforts were in vain when pit against the colonel's stubborn nature, and he eventually opened up.

Reports of riots in Liore had recently made their way into newspapers, portraying the gruesome havoc that wrecked the small desert town that they all thought to be neutralized. Roy had already caught wind of the most recent development but ordinarily wouldn't expect it to stir up such a reaction from the pragmatic lieutenant colonel.

Whenever Maes' mind would wander away from Roy, it seemed as if he was holding his breath, waiting for something terrible to happen and yet having no idea what to look out for. Enough prodding revealed that he was concerned about the surplus of violence that arose lately; from Ishval, to the ongoing border war with Aerugo, and uprisings in the north, west, and now Liore.

"The bodies are piling up all over," Maes said when questioned. "The government's going to have a hard time keeping control at this rate." Roy agreed that the situation was bleak, although it was clear to see that they were not quite on the same page.

"What are you getting at, Hughes?" he eventually asked to cut straight to the chase, long since accepting that he wasn't going to be returning to his new home quite as soon as he had hoped.

The lieutenant colonel studied his friend for a moment, pursing his lip, then shifted his gaze down towards the array of documents that littered the table which divided them. "After the Eastern soldiers neutralized the area, they were replaced by Central troops. Almost immediately after that, the violence skyrocketed."

Roy nodded as he followed along. That reminded him that he still needed to tell Fullmetal about this recent development. The kid had returned to Resembool right after turning in his report about exposing the false prophet, and was hospitalized by that whole Fifth Lab incident almost as soon as he came back. He had only just been released, if Roy recalled correctly, and it was unlikely that he had caught wind of this.

"I came across some transmission recordings, and..." Maes trailed off and drew his stare away from the table to settle on Roy, striking him to the core with the chilling unease in his eyes. "They wanted chaos to break lose. When there was unrest, orders were to respond with violence. Even though Eastern Command had already reigned in control, the Central soldiers were sent in expecting to be attacked, so they were told to attack first instead... But they should have known."

The colonel felt his expression harden as his mouth suddenly felt dry.

As much as Roy wanted to deny it, blaming communication would be foolish. "You're saying that someone high in the chain of command wanted Liore to tear itself apart." To think that they intended for violence and hatred to fester and spread like a virus until blood stained every road and all signs of civilization were destroyed- it sounded like a conspiracy. Judging by his friend's worry, no one was doing anything to stop it. "And you're sure about this?"

Maes nodded somberly. "Positive."

"But there's more to it than that, isn't there?" Roy asked, keying into the trepidation that radiated off of the man.

"... Maybe. I'm not sure yet." He looked as if he planned to continue, but he was cut off by a yawn, and reached for his coffee mug, disappointment clearly flashing across his visage when he realized it to be empty. Roy considered him for a moment.

"You should go home, Maes."

His friend glanced at him with a start, failing to hide the lack of sleep that shown through every blink. "I'm close to something, Roy. I can feel it. I-"

"It'll be here tomorrow."

"But-"

"You look like you're minutes away from passing out."

Hughes paused and blinked, then slowly allowed the refusal to be replaced by a grim smile. "It's that bad, huh?" He stifled another yawn.

"Aren't you usually the one telling me that the world won't fall apart the moment I get some rest?" Roy asked pointedly as he began to pile up the loose documents.

Maes chuckled wearily. "Yeah. I guess I should listen to my own advice." He too began to collect all of the information until everything that was sensitive was safely stored away. All that remained was the map, and a collection of recorded dates.

"I'll take care of the rest," Roy offered and ushered his friend towards the exit.

Hughes complied, most likely due to how tired he was than anything else. He paused in the door frame in thought as he looked back at the colonel. "It's good to have you here, Roy," he said with a tired smile.

He was probably taken a little off guard by how Roy Mustang had offered to stay later to finish work out of his own free will but in all honestly, Roy was just as surprised. Perhaps the resignation regarding staying late that he had already established doused his usual determination to do whatever possible in order to leave. Or maybe he just missed that goofball and had no desire to see him work himself half to death. But whatever the case was, he waved off Maes' reluctance. The man eventually left the room with no lack of hesitance, leaving the door open to allow more light to flood into the dim archive room.

Roy had certainly not expected his first day at Central to end on such a curious note.

Turning his attention back towards the table, his eyes fell on the map that had been sprawled out, untouched besides a circle of ink around the town of Liore.

If it was true that the military threw the town into ruin, then what did that mean for the other uprisings that were sprouting around the country?

He traced a finger down the dated list of events, mentally picking out all of those that included an unusual amount of bloodshed. Pinpointing a few of the locations, he began to get an ominous sense of foreboding. Roy picked up the map of the country as his breath was held in his throat, unsure if he could believe what he was thinking, all while hoping it was untrue.

A shadow passed over the table, obscuring the black text from view. His rapidly spinning thoughts came to a halt when a feminine voice greeted him from the doorway.

"Sir," Hawkeye began with a salute as she stepped further into the dark room, ever professional even while work hours had officially passed. Her shadow shortened with her movement until she stood by the other end of the table to face him. Though she was silhouetted by the light flooding out from the hallway behind her, Roy could still clearly see her studious eyes on him and the subtle flicker of concern that was portrayed by only the slightest crease of her brow. He had almost forgotten that she stayed behind to finish some loose ends in the transfer process as well.

Even though she came baring her own news, her first matter of business was to ask "what's wrong" the moment she caught the alarm in his eyes.

"Hopefully nothing," he replied simply, wishing that was all it was. The colonel released his grip on the map to let it fall back to its place on the table as he easily willed his expression back into something more neutral.

"What do you have to report?" When she first walked in, he fully expected her to simply alert him that she was going home for the night, but the way Hawkeye stood and the very air around her suggested otherwise.

"We received new orders."

Already? At this hour?

"Scar has just been spotted on the north side of town."

"What?" The colonel straightened with a start, sensing all hopes of getting any sleep that night flying away. "How did he get here so quickly?" Last he heard, Scar was injured in East City.

Shaking his head, he walked towards the exit as his focus changed, deciding to leave the Liore situation for another day. While the underground scheme that was occurring within the military was clearly dire, the more immediate issue automatically took priority.

"Never mind," he added before Hawkeye could consider his question. "Gather the team; we're going after him."

"Including Edward?"

Roy paused mid-stride as the teenager appeared in his mind. He supposed her question proved that he was indeed already freed from the hospital's notoriously tight grasp.

Edward, who was used as a pawn to create another civil war. Who blindly walked into it. It was not Fullmetal's fault, but vexation still brewed at the thought of it. But regardless, he was not going to put a target on the kid's back by sending him after Scar no matter how soon he wanted to have that impending conversation.

"No. We'll keep Fullmetal out of this one... Let's go."

The streets of Central City were particularly dark that night due to the thin, curved sliver of light that was the moon, and the stars that were dimmed by the city lamps that resided on every block. The team was alert and ready, already well acquainted with working late through the night. Stationed at a temporary mission base that was originally an office building on the north side of town, Roy relayed the plan to capture the infamous Ishvalan.

A blockade had been set up around the perimeter of where Scar was last spotted, which was thankfully away from any residential areas. At the center of that zone was their makeshift base, where the colonel himself would act as a lure. Hawkeye left to climb up to the tower across the street in order to keep her scope out for their target. As much as she wanted to stay by his side in case the alchemist murderer actually managed to reach him, he insisted that she would be of more use from above.

Meanwhile, Havoc was on his way to join another small group of soldiers who were tasked with prompting Scar closer to the center of the blockaded area, and the rest would remain at the base. While the colonel didn't think he needed the extra security when he had Flame Alchemy and a clear sky on his side, Hawkeye did not agree. But it didn't make much of a difference, he supposed. They would circle Scar like a trapped mouse and bring an end to this once and for all.

He was certain that everything would go flawlessly.

That is, until a short, irate blond stomped his way into the the old office building that they had claimed for the occasion, followed by an apologetic suit of armor.

"What the hell, Colonel!?"

Drawing his eyes away from the city map that was marked with the strategic placement and movements of soldiers, Roy stared at Fullmetal with a frown immediately in place.

"What do you think you're doing here, Fullmetal?" he demanded, ignoring both the kid's question as well as the stares coming from his other subordinates.

"Why didn't you tell me Scar's here? I still need to get back at him for breaking my arm last time," Ed growled, clenching a brand new metal fist.

"Go back to the dorms. You're not authorized to be here."

"Authorized," Edward scoffed. "As if I need permission."

"Besides," Alphonse added, covering up his brother's sarcastic remark before Roy could retort. "You need all the hands you can get, don't you?"

"In case you've forgotten, Scar kills State Alchemists. I'm not going to have a repeat of what happened last time you two got into a fight with him."

"What, so you're going to have him single you out instead? If I remember correctly, you weren't much of a help last time either, Colonel Useless."

"I already have a plan to deal with him, and there's no room in it for you."

"Then change the plan."

"No, Fullmetal. You're a walking hazard."

"What?"

Roy paused and withheld a sigh as he looked at the kid who he could only describe as pouting. Alphonse interjected again in an attempt to hastily mollify whatever tension was beginning to form. "Please Colonel, we just want to help."

Roy squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed through his teeth. He looked over to Fuery, who was pretending not to listen as he fiddled with his communicator.

"Fuery, has Scar's location been confirmed?"

The young sergeant jumped. "Uh- they know he's in the area, but haven't pinned him down yet."

Without another word, Roy brought his attention back to the Elrics, knowing full well that Fuery would update him if anything changed.

"Fine," he groaned, almost certain he would later come to regret the decision. He turned his back to the two and looked down at the decorated map and picked up a pen. "Alphonse is too noticeable, so you two will have to lay low. Perhaps closer to the southern side of the perimeter," he mused, speaking primarily to himself.

Edward appeared besides him as he dropped the tip of the pen on the map in contemplation, staring at a street corner that was a few blocks away from their current location.

"Hold on." Roy's eye twitched as the blond cut in, suddenly growing weary of his voice. He did not have the patience for this tonight. "I probably won't even see Scar from over there."

That's the point.

"Don't think you can take him on without me!"

"Remember your place," Roy huffed, sending the teenager a withering glare that was swiftly ignored.

"Whatever. I'll be right here if you need me," Edward stated, planting an automail finger in the center of the map where a circle had been drawn, indicating where they planned on capturing Scar. It was also where Roy would be stationed.

And with that said, the teenager turned out, his coat billowing gently behind him, and moved to make his exit as his brother watched the scene with mild apprehension.

"Fullmetal," Roy growled irritably and frowned as the kid approached the door. "Fine, but Alphonse still needs to stay out of sight."

Again, he was given no attention as the teenager continued, followed closing behind by his apologizing brother.

Soldiers fell into position within the small blockaded section of the city, all certain that an infamous murderer was lurking somewhere within.

Falmen, Breda and Fuery, who were originally going to be stationed near the colonel, had been moved further away to account for Ed and Al's appearance. Knowing those two, things were surely going to get destructive if Scar ran into them, and he didn't want his men in the thick of the crossfire. While his first lieutenant kept her watchful eyes on the streets below from the tallest building in the area, the rest of the team was scattered in very particular locations, all armed, focused, and ready.

However, the same could not necessarily be said for the impatient teenager who paced from side to side, unintentionally chipping away at Roy's tolerance with every step.

The colonel was standing in the shadows of the old building, turned to face a small clearing, well aware that it was still too early to expect their guest's arrival. Alphonse was hiding in a similar situation on the other side of the plaza, unsuspecting that Roy currently envied him. Why Edward insisted on being right in the middle of everything despite having to share space with his least favorite superior officer was a mystery.

"What's taking him so long?" Edward muttered with his arms folded, and not for the first time that night.

"Stop complaining."

The young alchemist finally stopped his pacing and turned to face the colonel, looking him over with scrutinizing eyes. "What's your problem?"

Holding back the bite in his response required a colossal effort on Roy's part. "... I don't have a problem." Besides the fact that a serial killer was on the loose, of course. And that's also not to mention that he was working at such late hour with only a child for company, and the discovery Hughes revealed to him earlier was still floating at the front of his mind.

"Yeah, you do. Or are you just naturally this irritable?"

Well, no one could say he didn't try. "Fine. You are my problem, Fullmetal," he sighed, keeping his gaze focused on the clearing as he allowed himself to lean against the brick wall of the building that shielded them from view.

"What did I even do this time?" the teen asked exasperatedly, spreading his arms to express his annoyed bewilderment. Roy glanced at him silently as it dawned on him that Ed had no consideration for all he had to change in order to allow his presence here. His unintentional involvement in the Liore riots also came to mind in that moment, further reminding Roy of everything that divided his attention, each factor chipping further and further away at his tolerance.

"It doesn't matter right now. We have other things to focus on. Forget I brought it up."

"What? No way! You can't just blame me for something and then not tell me what it is."

"I'm not blaming you for anything." With a grating sigh, Roy ran a hand through his hair and relented. Anything to get the brat to shut up. He knew Fullmetal was at risk of blaming himself for the riots, but he would much rather discuss an actual issue that had been bothering him than complain about the teen's usual impulsive tendency to interfere with his plans. "The Liore situation is... distracting me."

The statement put Edward at pause as the irritation was wiped from his face to be replaced by confusion. "Huh? I already dealt with Liore. What's the problem?"

"... The entire town is rioting against the military presence."

"I- what...? Why would they..?"

Upon seeing the pure shock on the kid's visage, Roy exhaled soundlessly, willing himself to calm down. It wasn't the time for this. But as he opened his mouth to bring an end to the topic, he was interrupted when he was targeted by the anger that warped into Ed's expression.

"You know, you've been an ass all night." No, he's been annoyed all night. He got closer to capturing the Ishvalen terrorist with every passing minute, but god forbid he try to do anything without Fullmetal there to interfere. However, Roy was almost too tired to acknowledge that that wasn't what the blond was referring to. "And this is why? Because of these- these riots? Something I wasn't even there to control?"

"No, that- I'm not upset because of Liore."

"Ah ha!" Fullmetal jabbed an accusing finger towards him as if he had just uncovered some deep, dark secret. "You just admitted that there's something else you're mad about!"

Roy opened his mouth, unsure what to say and silenced by the assertion, true or not. He was trying to imply the exact opposite, but either more truth shown in than he intended, or Fullmetal was just trying to annoy him. There went his attempts to avoid an having argument about this. If he wanted to talk about everything he did that irritated the colonel, than so be it.

"You can't just-" he cut himself off and groaned as he tried to wrap his head around the countless things he wanted to tell the kid to stop doing, obscuring any thoughts regarding the unfortunate timing of this discussion. "You can't rush into these things at the last second. Your lack of proper forethought is why Scar got the best of you last time."

"I don't wanna hear it," the kid snapped, scowling at the mention of his loss against the Ishvalan. "Leave it to Mustang to get upset over the littlest things. Not very surprising though, since you're never happy with anything."

"Well excuse me for trying to make sure everything goes according to plan for once,"

"I'm not stopping you!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Fullmetal, yes, you are! Nothing ever goes well whenever you're involved, no matter how meticulously I plan for it."

"That's not true, you bastard!"

"Yes, it is," he exclaimed, amazed that the kid hadn't figured it out already.

"Maybe if you weren't useless, then your plans would go better!"

"You're blaming me? Face it, Fullmetal: you're a magnet for trouble. Liore wouldn't have torn itself apart if it wasn't for you!"

A sharp inhale, widened eyes, rigid body, and for a moment, Roy felt a sense of satisfaction that he would later be sickened by. But as the kid remained still and the seconds stretched on to become uncomfortable, Roy knew he had crossed a line. After a moment of consideration, he was almost as stunned as Edward was by the sound of his own words, wondering how he was driven so easily to make such an accusation.

Ed's feet were rooted to the spot as his breath was trapped in his throat, gazing blankly at the colonel as if he didn't see him at all, staring down hidden demons instead. He didn't need to read the reports to know that families were torn apart and lives were lost because of those riots.

The silence, broken only by the sounds of distant traffic and night life, continued on for far too long while Roy contemplated what to do.

Was he truly in the wrong?

Yes, probably.

But was it bad enough that he would need to apologize?

Yes, probably.

Besides, there was no evidence to support his outburst. If someone else was planning these events, there's no way to know if some other force would had thrown the town into unrest even if the kid had never traveled there.

But as he started to speak, his tongue was stilled by the scowl he was targeted with.

"Fine. If you don't want me here, then I won't waste my time," Edward growled, turning his back to the man as he spoke under his breath. "Have fun dealing with Scar alone, bastard. Hope you end up like I did."

Had he spoken with the same, rash, obnoxiously loud voice that he always used to throw insults, Roy wouldn't have thought twice about the comment. He would have brushed it off as more impulsive teenage rage. But it was that subdued, coldly quiet tone that left him speechless, unable to act as he watched Edward walk across the plaza, leaving him by himself.

Alone with a man hell-bent on killing all State Alchemists on the loose.

This was a perfect recipe for disaster, further proving the point he was just trying to make. But for what reason? Some things were better left unsaid, no matter how true they were, and this was a prime example of when Roy should have just kept his mouth shut. Especially since Liore was brought up as if they both had the same information. But the fact of the matter was, Edward didn't know the potential importance of the riots. Neither did Roy, really, but if they were truly deliberately arranged events for whatever reason...

"Fullmetal!" he called through his teeth, careful to keep his voice from echoing too far. "Get back here!"

But his command was ignored as the blond hastily disappeared within the shadows that were nestled between the tall office building, in search of his brother.

While Hawkeye was watching the whole scene and would keep an eye on all of them the best she could from above, it was still unsafe for those two to be running around. Her position gave her view of the majority of the area, but some of the smaller alleyways were another matter. If Scar showed up, there was no guarantee that the other soldiers in the area could get to them in time. Not to mention that Roy now looked painfully defenseless.

While he would like to say that he could best the likes of Scar in battle alone with the help of his alchemy, he was not arrogant enough to risk it, especially with so much on the line. At this rate, Edward's absence would send the entire plan into disarray. The playing field was now imbalanced.

With a quick scan around the area, he sprinted across the plaza to chase the young alchemist down, mentally cursing himself for allowing this to happen. As he reached a crossroad, he turned in every direction. In the corner of his vision, he saw a hint of movement and a flash of red fabric further down and ran after it without a second thought.

Roy squint his eyes through the darkness as he turned a corner. As he recognized the small figure of his subordinate standing with his back to the colonel within the tightly knit maze of buildings, a voiceless sigh of relief slipped past his lips and he slowed his pace to a walk. It occurred to him in the back of his mind that they had gone in the opposite direction as to where Alphonse was posted, but in that moment, he didn't stop to think about it.

Perhaps he should have.

"Fullmetal," he called, his voice slicing through the mute alleyway. They had gone further away from the rest of the troops and were possibly the only two in the seemingly desolate area. As he approached the teenager, who was yet to turn and face him, he sensed that something was different. What, however, he couldn't put his finger on.

Perhaps it was because Edward was simply standing there instead of looking for Alphonse, as if he was waiting for the colonel to catch up with him.

"About what I said," he began once he got close enough and stopped, staring at the blond's back. Although he couldn't focus on whipping up an apology to Fullmetal of all people when he couldn't even see his expression. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. "Turn around."

When Edward finally swiveled his body to face his superior officer, Roy had to force his expression to remain neutral once he was met with an unsettling, vaunting smile that simply did not belong on his face. His golden eyes were narrowed knowingly, as if he held some surreptitious information that would change everything. The colonel had no choice but to tell himself the kid was being cynically arrogant for getting his boss to apologize, and then persuaded himself to move on. He didn't quite trust himself or Edward enough to audibly question how odd it seemed.

"... What happened in Liore isn't your fault, and no one thinks it is. And... I'-"

"Don't worry, Mustang," Edward cut in, his voice laced with an ominous confidence as he took a step closer to shorten the gap. Somehow, Roy felt the desire to get away from him, but ignored it due to how ridiculous the notion would have been. "I'm not mad. Besides, you're about to get what you deserve anyway."

"What do you-"

The disquieting air that radiated off of the kid should have been warning enough. But somehow, Roy still had not expected to need to defend himself before it was too late.

There was a flash of swift movement, triggering Roy's trained instincts. But even as he brought his arms up to intersect Ed's, his automail limb managed to overpower him with an ease he did not expect or understand.

The small, almost unnoticeable prick felt on the side of his neck would have been waved off as a bug bite, had Roy not caught sight of a syringe that slipped out of Ed's sleeve and the strange transparent liquid that was skillfully injected into him before he stumbled backwards to distance himself. He found himself incapable of wondering anything else besides where he was hiding the small tool this entire time, where he got it, and of course, why he used.

With a hand on his neck and astounded, widened eyes on Edward, he was frozen still as his mouth gaped open for what felt like an eternity. Fullmetal stared back with an amused satisfaction that sent a tremor of unease shooting down his body.

"What... the hell?" he muttered, struggling to comprehend what just happened. "Did you just drug me?"

Fullmetal said nothing, as though he hadn't even heard the question. If he did hear, he had absolutely no interest in answering. Or perhaps, he would let the obvious answer his question for him.

Before Roy could process anything else, his brain seemed to have turned upside down and an incredible dizziness streamed through him and he found himself falling forwards on his knees within the same second. His head was forced to bow as his entire body felt weighted down by gravity. He exerted every ounce of strength just to stop the pressure from crushing him as his head began to throb, but he felt the energy get sapped from his muscles until he could no longer hold up his arms.

Seconds before he would have undoubtedly fallen on his face, Edward kicked his defenseless shoulder, shoving the colonel onto the ground without any resistance whatsoever left in his body.

As the ability to move quickly drained, Roy rolled himself onto his stomach and watched morbidly at his own hands as he tried to get them underneath himself, but to no avail.

This didn't make any sense.

With his eyelids growing heavy, he looked over his shoulder to Edward, who was still watching him with that unsettling smile in place.

That expression- he could only describe it as sadistic.

But that did not fit the Fullmetal Alchemist in the slightest. Whoever that was standing above him, it wasn't the kid he had known. Nothing Roy had said should have warranted such a reaction.

Something here was very, very wrong.

"Not so high and mighty now, huh?" the blond taunted as he stepped over the colonel's body. Roy clenched his teeth, far too focused on keeping himself conscious than to consider answering.

Ignoring his silence, Edward plopped himself down to sit on Roy's back as if he was nothing more than a bench, extracting a rough, strangled gasp from the man. He knew the kid would weigh more than average with his automail, but this was incomprehensible. Perhaps it was the drug that was skewing his perception, but while he laid there, struggling for breath as he felt his rib cage cry under the weight, he was further convinced that something was terribly wrong with the young alchemist who then began to laugh.

"Oh man, just look at yourself! This is priceless!" he exclaimed with a sick grin that Roy could just barely see out of the corner of his eye.

"Who... are you?" he chocked out through his teeth, eyes falling into a glare from both distrust and the fight just to keep them open.

Ed stopped his laughter and stared down at the colonel for a moment, before whistling as if he was impressed. "So you're not a complete fool after all," he mused with a patronizing tone that one might use to compliment an animal. "But who I am doesn't really matter now, does it? I could have appeared to you as anyone, but after seeing your little argument with the pipsqueak over there, I figured this would be more fun."

Roy was sure the kid was talking, perhaps explaining something of importance, but he didn't understand a shred of it through the fog that had quickly invaded his mind.

"But before you fall asleep, make sure you say goodbye," he continued and leaned down so the colonel had the perfect view of his sickening grin. "Because in a few minutes, you'll be dead."

"What..." he trailed off before he could say any more, feeling his own voice flee from him. Even keeping his head up became too arduous of a chore and he was forced to let it fall, paying no mind to the dirt and gravel and nearly fell into his ajar mouth.

His vision blurred and Roy was certain he would have thrown up with nausea by that point if his body had the energy to manage it. Mind spinning, stomach turning, he strained his eyes to make out the simple lines of his own hands, but even that became impossible.

Useless; the suffocating sensation that the drug coursed through him whispered that word to him.

He didn't want to die, and especially not by this. Not by what appeared to be his own subordinate.

He needed answers; not this so-called peace, damn it!

It was too soon and too meaningless.

Roy was not even given more than a few precious seconds to consider his situation before his eyes shut against his will and he felt a powerful force pulling him at every limb into darkness, unsure if it was simply unconsciousness that awaited him, or the death that the kid smirking down on him had promised.

Well, here we are. I hope you're ready for some sadness, because that's all you're gonna get for quite some time. To tell you a little about what's to come, I would have put Psychological as one of the genres if that was an option. :) I'll keep updating on a weekly basis, every Monday. As always, you can check my profile for info if anything ever pops up.

Also! Anyone who's read my previous work knows I'm a big fan of Parental!RoyEd. While it's not mentioned in the description, there will be some of that later on.

Thanks for reading!